


Happier

by florence1



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Break Up, Happy Ending?, I'm new to this so idk, M/M, harry says fucking a lot so, it's kind of sad but not enough to make you cry, just give you some kind of feeling maybe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-07
Updated: 2017-08-01
Packaged: 2018-11-10 14:38:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,278
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11128890
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/florence1/pseuds/florence1
Summary: One month after Harry and Draco's break-up, Harry sees him with another man.





	1. Happier

**Author's Note:**

> Happier by Ed Sheeran inspired this. I recommend listening to that song and reading!

It had been one month since Harry and Draco broke things off, and Harry has been shelling himself off from almost everything. Hermione and Ron had finally made him leave his flat. 

As Harry was making his way down the street with Hermione and Ron flagged at his side. He caught sight of a certain blonde and he felt like he couldn’t breathe. His body was soaring with raw hurt and the emotions he had been trying to cover up.

‘’Harry,’’ Hermione said gently, giving the boy a sad smile. ‘’We don’t have to-‘’

Harry, who only shook his head, still advancing, cut her off. He wasn’t going to fall off the wagon just because he saw him again. It seemed like Draco didn’t even notice them.

Harry’s eyes were trained on the boy, and his mind screamed at him as he saw someone wrapping their arms around Draco. It was another man, of course, and his dark hair and light eyes twisted some kind of satisfaction in Harry, but all the same made him want to vomit.

Ron grabbed Harry by his arm, shaking his head. ‘’I know you’re not ready for this, mate. Let’s just go.’’

‘’Stop,’’ Harry said, all but ripping his arm away from Ron, who looked equally as hurt.

 ‘’Harry,’’ Hermione said gently, trying not to trigger the boy, ‘’we could get a drink somewhere else, let’s just go.’’

‘’I’m fine here, I want a drink here so I’m going to bloody get one.’’ He hissed lowly, anger settling in the pit of his stomach. He didn’t know if it was at her, at himself, or at Draco fucking Malfoy who looked as happy as ever.

How could he be so fucking happy when Harry was wallowing in self fucking pity, drinking himself to death almost every fucking night. It wasn’t fair.

Harry took in a deep breath, continuing his walk to the pub, an anxious Ron and Hermione stumbling behind him.

Draco and the man who was with him made their way inside the pub, also, and Harry mentally cursed himself. He should have backed out when he had the chance, he didn’t know how he would react if he and Draco faced one another.

Walking into the pub, Harry grabbed the seats in the corner of the room, which gave him sight of Draco and whoever the hell he was with.

Ron gave a sigh, as Hermione sat across from Harry. ‘’I’ll grab the drinks,’’ he muttered, slipping away.

Ron had never been very appreciative of the relationship that Harry and Draco had shared, he always claimed the Draco was going to leave him heartbroken, and Harry wouldn’t hear it. Now, he regrets not breaking things off sooner, but things had been so damn good.

They had been together for three years, and things seemed as perfect as ever. They fought, of course. At first it started off as petty things; the color scheme of the flat; Harry being messy; Harry using Draco’s shampoo; Draco not liking how Harry cooked, things that really were of no importance. They always ended in make-up sex and that was really all that mattered.

About the second year in, the fights started getting worse. 

Draco would sometimes come home late smelling like another person; Harry would go on Auror assignments and come home hurt; Draco would drink all the firewhiskey they had in the flat; Harry would refuse to buy any alcohol; Draco wouldn’t even bother coming home at time, and they were starting to hurt each other too. The fights ended in either Draco or Harry swinging and the next morning they’d have bruises all over, refusing to speak to one another.

Harry didn’t understand how things turned out so wrong; how they had changed from being in love to not even wanting to see each other.

He remembered how things had started between the two.

Harry had been working in the Ministry as an Auror and Draco was an Unspeakable. There had been a Death Eater case where the Harry saw that he needed Draco to help.

Of course, in the beginning, Draco was all refusals and avoiding Harry, but the more Harry tried to get him to help, the more he seemed to give in. it had taken two weeks to get Draco to work with him, and when the two finally finished getting what Harry needed, it had been awkward. 

Harry had taken Draco for a drink, and they both apologized for things that didn’t matter anymore, and soon that apologizing turned into hand touching; and hand touching turned to body rubbing; and body rubbing turned to kissing, and the next thing they both knew, they woke up besides one another, wanting to do it all again.

That had been the start, and of course things were rough but it started getting better and they truly started to enjoy each other, not just the sex.

Harry was snapped out of his thoughts as Ron placed three pints of firewhiskey in front of the two. Hermione only scowled at the choice of drink, but didn’t refuse, probably because she didn’t want Harry to blow up.

Ron sat himself next to Hermione, taking a sip while Harry seemed to down half of it in a second.

He could remember coming to this pub with Draco. It had been the day after Harry’s birthday, and Draco had wanted to take him out. Harry expected fancy restaurants with nice robes, but when he met Draco here, he was surprised

It wasn’t the first thing that would come to mind when he thought about Draco taking him out. He could remember the pinkness in Draco’s cheeks as he tried his best to avoid Harry gaze, but that had been the best date the two had ever went on, Harry would always think.

He didn’t know why he wanted to come to this specific place, but he guessed it was because there were no bad memories of him and Draco in here. There were never any fights, just the two getting along and drinking together.

Harry tried to ignore the way the man was handsy with Draco, he tried, he really did, but the blood rushing to his ears and his magic snapping painfully at his hands caused him to abruptly stand.

The couple in front of him wasn’t surprised by how he was acting; they only stood with caution, following Harry out.

Harry didn’t even bother saying his goodbye’s as he hurriedly made his way towards an apparition spot, and soon ending up in his dirty flat.

The anger was still bubbling in the pit of his stomach as he grabbed the first thing he saw, which was a vase, and chucking it at the wall with a loud yell. His magic was about ready to burst as he threw things off their places with a flick of his hand.

His chest was soon heavy with misery as sobs racked his body.

Harry could still hear Draco’s voice as he left, the emptiness that each word was laced with.

_He had just gotten back from a two-day mission when he finally returned home. All he really wanted to do was sleep, and the cuts on his face would be hell to explain to Draco. Recently, all they had been fighting about was his job, Draco wanted him to quit, but he couldn’t do that to his team._

_When he walked in, the first thing he noticed was that the flat was a wreck. When he had left, it was as tidy as Harry could manage, and it definitely wasn’t like this._

_‘’Draco?’’ he called out, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. He immediately whipped out his wand, going further into the home._

_Harry was shocked at the state of the kitchen; there were bottles of firewhiskey and some muggle drinks lining the floor. What the hell?_

_‘’Draco?’’ he called again, soon wandering his way into their shared room._

_The sight that met him was something to break him entirely. It was Draco lying naked on their shared bed with bottles of liquor surrounding his body. Harry knew that he had developed a drinking problem, but it had only been two fucking days, how could it have gotten that far?_

_Did he buy everything himself? ‘’Draco,’’ Harry said, making his way to the bed, eyebrows furrowed._

_Draco’s empty grey eyes met his, and a look of surprise drifted through tem. ‘’Harry,’’ he managed to say, his voice on the verge of breaking. ‘’You’re home early.’’_

_Harry only shook his head, grabbing his wand and vanishing the bottles in the room._

_‘’How the hell did you get all this? I thought you were getting better.’'_

_Draco only let a bitter laugh pass his lips as he stood from the bed, stumbling slightly as he put on his clothes. ‘’How the hell can I get better when I’m not even sure when the last time I’m going to see you is,’’ he grunted out, facing Harry fully._

_Harry only scoffed; his eyes alight as anger built in his body. It was always the same excuse. ‘’Don’t you fucking dare use that excuse-‘’_

_‘’Why? Because you know it’s true? You don’t even think twice before throwing yourself into whatever fucking assignment they need you on!’’ Draco yelled._

_‘’I do what I need to do, I thought you knew what you signed up for when we started dating!’’_

_Draco only scoffed, rolling his eyes as he made his way out of the room, down the hall and into the kitchen. He pulled open the cabinet, grabbing a full bottle of muggle liquor, taking the top off swiftly. ‘’I did know, I just thought that after everything, you’d get a job that doesn’t risk your life every day.’’_

_Harry threw his hands up in exasperation, ‘’why can’t you understand that this is what I do? It’s the only thing I’m good at-‘’_

_‘’You know that’s bullshit! You could do any fucking thing you put your mind to!’’ Draco took a gulp of the drink in his hand, and Harry shook his head, wrenching the bottle out of his grip and downing the contents in the drain._

_‘’What the fuck was that for?’’ Draco hissed, his eyes narrowed. That had reminded Harry of the years they were in school together._

_‘’You told me that you’d stop drinking! What the fuck is all this?’’ he pointed around to the empty bottles lying on the ground. ‘’You need help.’’_

_Draco only shook his head, ‘’I fucked another man.’’_

_Harry only stared at the man, a strange feeling settling in the pit of his stomach. He wanted to yell and vomit, and his emotions were getting wild._

_‘’What?’’_

_‘’I fucked another man while you were gone. In here; in this flat; in our bed.’’_

_Those words sent Harry rattling over the edge, ‘’what? I-‘’_

_‘’I’m done,’’ Draco said, shaking his head, ‘’I’m done with worrying about you on every fucking mission you go on, and I can’t keep living like this. I only ever started drinking because of you, and I don’t this anymore.’’ Draco turned his back towards Harry, shaking his head as he left the kitchen._

_Harry was stuck staring at the empty space that Draco had occupied, his heart at his feet. He didn’t have the strength to talk to Draco._

_Draco had returned to the kitchen, a suitcase in one hand and the key to their flat in another. He placed the key on the kitchen counter, leaving without another word._

_Harry had just stood there, a feeling of emptiness filling his body as he sank to the floor, his head resting against the edge of the counter._

That had been a month ago, and Harry still hadn’t gotten a grip on himself. After that, Harry had simply stood up, cleaned the flat, and went to bed. The events didn’t seem to actually sink in until a week after when Draco didn’t return.

Harry didn’t care that Draco had cheated on him; he knew he should, but he didn’t.

Harry lay on the carpeted ground, staring at the ceiling, tears in his eyes and his heart heavy.

A pounding on his door alerted him, but he couldn’t find it in his to actually stand and open it. The pounding wouldn’t stop and with a groan of annoyance, he stood making his way towards it. Couldn’t people just leave him to feel sorry for himself. 

With a sigh, Harry opened the door, and his heart felt heavy.

A distressed looking Draco was right in front of him, and he didn’t know how to react to it. Draco’s grey eyes met his green ones and he opened his mouth to speak, but before a sound could escape, Harry had the man in his tight embrace, sobs racking his body.

‘’I’m so sorry,’’ Draco said gently, holding Harry close to him. 

 


	2. How Not To

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this was based off the song 'How Not To' by Dan + Shay.

Draco had seen him.

He saw Harry as he was walking down the street. Draco had seen the way his face seemed to fall as he eyes Draco’s company.

The boy was a Muggle, and has dark hair and bright icy blue eyes. When Draco had first met him, his mind screamed at him, taunting him that this wasn’t Harry, no matter how hard Draco tried to pretend.

There were so many things wrong with him; he didn’t have messy hair, his was always neatly styled; his eyes weren’t that bright shade of green that he would always drown in; his face wasn’t sheltered by glasses; he was almost as pale as Draco was. It was just wrong.

Draco’s heart had clenched when he met the boy (Alex, he said his name was) and the only thoughts he had were of Harry.

It had been the week after Draco had left and he was feeling shittier than ever. His heart felt heavy in his chest and it was hard to wake up to an empty bed. Harry would always wake him before he left for work, even when things were going bad.

Draco had managed to get himself up that day, and even went as far as getting himself dressed in nice muggle clothes, the ones that Harry had always said looked great on him.

He had heard of a muggle bar that was pretty good, so he decided to give it a try that day. So, when the clock turned eight, Draco was apparating away. He was seated at the bar when Alex had approached him, and when Draco had gotten a good look at him he had thought for a second that it _was_ Harry, though the voice was completely wrong and Harry wouldn’t wear the tacky shirt the man had on.

But either way, Draco had jumped at the chance to go home with him, and then they started going on dates, which always led to them going home together.

The moment he saw Harry, Draco knew what he had to do. His eyes were on Harry the moment he entered the Pub.

Alex had seemed to notice and his hands were almost always on Draco; handing him his drink, letting their fingers linger; touching his knee every so often; even touching his left forearm (to which Draco seemed to hiss at him and stormed out a couple minutes after Harry.)

His mind was racing as he apparated to Harry’s home, knocking harshly on his front door.

When Harry finally opened it, Draco noticed how distraught he was. His green eyes were red rimmed, and he looked as if he hadn’t shaved in weeks. He had circles under his eyes and his hair was worse than usual.

Before Draco could even get a word in, Harry and pulled him into a tight hug, and was sobbing. That almost made Draco breakdown, also.

‘’I’m so sorry,’’ he whispered gently, his hand rubbing circles in the small of Harry’s back, a thing he usually did when comforting Harry.

Draco pulled away from Harry, shutting the door behind him and leading him to the sofa. The house was the same as he remembered, and his heart tugged at his stomach. There were broken items on the floor and Draco shook his head.

He sat down on the sofa, pulling Harry along with him. He wrapped his arms soothingly around the man and leading his chin on his head.

‘’You’re such an asshole,’’ Harry hissed out, his voice shaking.

Draco only nodded, holding his arms securely around the man as he tried to move away.

It seemed like Harry realized what he was doing. That he was hugging the man who cheated on him and left him.

‘’Let go of me, damnit,’’ Harry cursed, trying to get himself out of Draco’s tight grip. ‘’You fucking cheated on me and left me all because of my fucking work. Fuck you. Get out.’’ 

Draco didn’t move, which seemed to anger Harry more. He finally escaped Draco’s grip, and glared daggers at him. ‘’Get the hell out, I don’t want you here!’’

‘’I didn’t mean to do what I did, Harry. I was just upset and I’m sorry.’’

‘’You’re sorry? Is that it? You’re fucking sorry? Wow, that solves everything! That solves how you fucking cheated on me and left me. You always promised not to leave, and what do you do just because of what I worked as? Oh, yeah, you fucking left.’’

Harry shook his head, and Draco could see the anger gripping at his chest.

‘’I was just so tired of wondering if you were ever going to return home to me and-‘’

‘’Don’t you fucking start with that, Draco, don’t! You’ve overused that damn excuse, and I don’t need to hear that again. So like I said before: get the hell out.’’

Draco didn’t move an inch.

Harry’s magic snapped at the air around them but Draco couldn’t find it in him to be scared.

He sighed, ‘’look Harry, I hate that I left like that, I regretted it this past month-‘’

‘’Oh yeah? Was that why that guy was practically in your damn lap the whole time?’’ Harry scoffed, ‘’I don’t need this right now, get out.’’

‘’What went wrong with us?’’

Harry opened his mouth to argue, but the fight seemed to drain at the question. His shoulders slumped and he sunk to the ground, not even noticing the glass that poked at his skin.

‘’Honestly, I don’t know. We were so good together and suddenly it just stopped. You started staying out late and I started taking more dangerous assignments. Everything just went to hell, I guess.’’

Draco nodded, his eyes trained on Harry.

‘’I was offered the Head Auror position the day you left. I didn’t take it, because I knew you wouldn’t like it. I had also quit that day. I decided that leaving you to worry for days at a time was too much, and that you had started to become distant, so I quit.

‘’I had came home that day to rest, because Robards had put up a fight about me leaving but I stuck to my decision. I was going to tell you that morning but imagine my surprised when you told me you’d fucked someone else and left.’’

A bitter laugh left Harry’s lips as he leaned his back against the wall, the glass digging uncomfortably into his skin, but he made no sign of moving.

‘’I messed this up, didn’t I?’’

Harry nodded, scoffing. ‘’Pretty much.’’

‘’Is there still a chance between the two of us?’’

Harry shrugged, ‘’maybe. But it’ll take time to trust you again.’’

Draco nodded, ‘’okay then. Let’s do it.’’

 

_fin_


End file.
